Russia was again the largest oil supplier to Czechia last year, but its share fell significantly

Russia was again the largest oil supplier to Czechia last year, although its share is gradually declining. A total of 2.7 million tonnes of oil came from Russia last year, accounting for roughly 42 percent of total imports to the Czech Republic. At the same time, this was a year-on-year decrease of 37 percent. Use of the Druzhba pipeline also fell. Imports from other countries are rising, particularly from Azerbaijan, whose share of supplies is now just behind Russia’s. This is according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the Czech Statistical Office.

More than 6.5 million tonnes of oil were imported into Czechia last year in total, a year-on-year decrease of 12 percent.

Russia has traditionally been the largest oil supplier to the Czech Republic, but its deliveries fell to a multi-year low last year. While more than 4.3 million tonnes of oil came from the Russian Federation to the Czech Republic the year before, last year the figure was 1.6 million tonnes lower. In previous years, supplies from Russia accounted for more than half of imports. Last year, the share of the country that launched its unprovoked aggression against Ukraine three years ago fell to 42 percent.

By contrast, statistics show a significant increase in supplies from other countries. Azerbaijan was the second-largest supplier to the Czech Republic last year. With more than 2.6 million tonnes of oil, it had a share of around 40 percent, and its deliveries rose by 25 percent year on year. Kazakhstan was the third-largest supplier to the Czech Republic according to the statistics, with 1.02 million tonnes of oil; its deliveries also rose by a quarter year on year. The data also show an increase in imports from countries including Norway last year.

The use of the two domestic oil pipelines is changing as well. This time, a larger share of the oil—58 percent—came to Czechia last year via the IKL pipeline, which runs from Germany and connects there to the Italian TAL pipeline. The year before, the proportions were exactly reversed, with most of the oil flowing to Czechia through Russia’s Druzhba pipeline.

According to government plans, last year’s trend of reducing oil imports from Russia is set to intensify further. Physical work to expand the TAL pipeline was completed at the end of last year. The state-owned pipeline operator Mero is now continuing to test and certify the technology, with full operation of the expanded pipeline expected from around the middle of this year. The project, costing approximately 1.6 billion crowns, will double the pipeline’s capacity to eight million tonnes of oil per year. The government says this will end Czechia’s dependence on supplies through Russia’s Druzhba pipeline after 60 years.

The TAL pipeline begins in Trieste, Italy, where oil is imported from several countries and continents. The largest share comes from areas around the Caspian and Black seas, the United States and Africa.